This article is general information , not legal advice , and is not binding. MefSteel is not a law firm; what is written here is no substitute for a ready-made contract text or a legal opinion. It is wise to have a lawyer review the contract you are going to sign. Nothing in this article constitutes an undertaking on the part of MefSteel; the scope, technical specification, duration and price of each project are determined solely by the signed contract and its annexes.
1. Do Not Be Misled by "Turnkey"
The term "turnkey" has no fixed legal definition. For one company it includes the kitchen units, for another it does not. So look not at that word but at the scope list .
A good contract contains two lists at once: what is included and what is not included. The second is usually the more important, because that is where the surprises come from.
| Items frequently left out of scope |
|---|
| Permit fees and payments to official bodies |
| Soil survey and drawing approval fees |
| Electricity, water and gas connections and connection fees |
| Septic tank / treatment solution |
| Excavation on the plot, retaining walls, fill |
| Garden walls, landscaping, parking, external works |
| Kitchen units, wardrobes, white goods |
| Air conditioning, solar systems, smart home systems |
| Cranes, haulage or special measures for vehicle access |
Ask one by one which of these are included, and have the answer written into the contract. "It must be included" is the most expensive assumption you can make.
2. The Technical Specification: This Is the Real Document
If you want to understand where a price difference comes from, the place to look is not the quotation but the technical specification. The difference between two quotations usually comes not from the profit margin but from the level of quality .
The following headings must be stated as figures :
| Item | What the contract should say |
|---|---|
| Structural profiles | Profile size, steel thickness, steel grade, galvanised coating weight |
| Wall boards | Board type and thickness, inside and outside separately, number of layers |
| Insulation | Material type, thickness, density, where it will be applied |
| Roof | Covering type, structure, whether gutters and downpipes are included |
| Doors / windows | Profile type, glazing specification (insulated glazing, thickness), schedule of sizes and quantities |
| Floor finishes | Type and grade, what will be used in which room |
| Wet rooms | Waterproofing method, board type to be used, scope of tiling and sanitaryware |
| Electrical / plumbing | Number of sockets and switches, distribution board, grade of installation materials |
| Heating | System type, whether the boiler or air conditioning is included, how far the installation goes |
The steel thickness and the galvanised coating weight of the structural profiles must always be written down. They directly affect both the load capacity and the long life of the structure, and they cannot be judged by eye. "Light steel profile" alone is not enough in a contract.
3. The Payment Plan — Tie It to the Work, Not the Calendar
A sound payment plan is tied not to dates but to actual progress on site . Saying "this much when assembly is complete" instead of "this much on 15 October" protects both sides.
- For each stage, what it covers must be clearly defined (what does "assembly complete" mean?).
- How completion of a stage will be established must be written down (site inspection, record, photographs).
- A final instalment should be left until after handover and acceptance — this is the most effective way of getting snags finished.
- Payments should preferably be made through a bank and into the company's account.
We covered the financing side in a separate article: Can You Get a Mortgage on a Light Steel House?
4. The Handover and Timing Clause
The timing clause is the one that causes most argument — because it is usually written incompletely. The following should be stated:
| What should be stated | Why |
|---|---|
| When the period starts | The contract date, the permit date, or after payment? It makes a big difference. |
| What the period covers | Does it include the permit process? Does it include the fit-out? |
| Force majeure | How weather, administrative delays and supply problems will be treated |
| Delays caused by the client | How late selections and revision requests affect the period |
| In the event of delay | What the consequence will be for both sides |
The article where we set out in detail what the programme consists of: How Long Does a Light Steel House Take?
5. Who Is Responsible? (The Frequently Skipped Clause)
For each of the items below, check whether the contract says "the company" or "the client" . When these are not written down, arguments break out mid-job:
| Task | Who is responsible? |
|---|---|
| Project drawings and the permit application | Should be stated |
| Commissioning the soil survey | Should be stated |
| Site electricity and water | Should be stated |
| Crane, forklift, haulage | Should be stated |
| Providing vehicle access to the plot | Should be stated |
| Excavation and fill | Should be stated |
| Health and safety and insurance | Should be stated |
| Site security (loss of materials) | Should be stated |
| Building inspection / supervision service | Should be stated |
| Occupancy certificate application | Should be stated |
6. Revisions: What Happens If You Change Your Mind?
Asking for changes to the plan is normal; what matters is that how they will be priced is agreed in advance. The contract should make the following clear:
- Will a revision request be submitted in writing ?
- Is it written that no work will proceed until the price difference is approved ?
- How will the effect of the revision on the programme be calculated?
- Is it stated that changes after production has started will be treated differently?
That last point matters especially: because light steel profiles are made to size in the factory, a change to the plan after production has started is the most expensive change in both cost and time. Knowing that, it is best to finalise the plan beforehand.
7. Warranty and After Handover
A warranty cannot be written as a single period, because the items are different in nature:
- The structure — its own period
- Roof covering and waterproofing — its own period
- Third-party products such as doors, windows and boilers — the manufacturer's own warranty certificate applies; the certificates should be handed over to you
- Workmanship — its own period
What the warranty does not cover should also be written down: user error, lack of maintenance, unauthorised later alterations and natural disasters are typical exclusions. At handover, also ask for the following:
- Installation and panel layout drawings (very useful later when fixing things to the walls)
- Documentation and warranty certificates for the materials used
- Maintenance recommendations
- A snag list and a completion record
We explained why you should keep the drawings here: How to Fit a TV, Cabinets and Shelves to the Wall
Contract Checklist
| # | Is it in the contract? |
|---|---|
| 1 | Full identity and title details of the parties, and the block and plot details of the property |
| 2 | Scope list — included and not included , separately |
| 3 | Approved plan and technical specification annex (signed) |
| 4 | Profile steel thickness and galvanised coating weight |
| 5 | Insulation thicknesses and board types |
| 6 | Total price, VAT position, whether there will be price adjustments |
| 7 | Stage-based payment plan + a final instalment after handover |
| 8 | The start of the period, what it covers, and force majeure |
| 9 | Allocation of responsibilities (permit, crane, utilities, excavation, safety) |
| 10 | Revision procedure and pricing |
| 11 | Warranty periods item by item, and the exclusions |
| 12 | Documents and drawings to be provided at handover |
| 13 | Acceptance (handover) procedure and snag list |
| 14 | The competent forum in the event of a dispute |
When collecting quotations, ask companies to price against the same technical specification . Otherwise you are comparing apples with oranges: the cheaper-looking quotation usually means thinner profiles or less insulation. Level the specification, and only then does the price difference mean something.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the contract have to be notarised?
A written contract is essential for construction work; whether notarisation is required depends on the type of work and the parties' preference. Arrangements involving transfer of property and a pure construction contract can be different in legal nature. It is wise to ask a lawyer about that distinction.
What if the company does not want to give a contract?
That alone is warning enough. Serious work is not carried out on a verbal agreement. A written contract protects not only you but the company too — which is why serious companies do not avoid one.
Are out-of-scope items a sign of bad faith?
No. Every company's scope is different, and excluding some items is entirely normal. The problem is not that they are excluded but that it was never said. A clearly written "not included" list is in fact a sign of a transparent company.
Can the price change later?
The contract must state clearly whether the price is fixed, or under what conditions it will be updated. Left vague, this clause is one of the biggest sources of later argument. How situations such as exchange rates, material prices or a change of scope will be handled should be settled at the outset.